BJP MP Yogi Adityanath said in Lucknow on Wednesday that the Akhilesh Yadav government was serving communal agenda in UP and was trying to prohibit workers of nationalist organisations like BJP from raising slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Shree Ram’.

Adityanath’s meeting was held despite the district administration cancelling permission for the same.

Addressing a gathering of workers in Lucknow East Assembly constituency during a campaign for BJP candidate Gopal Tandon, Adityanath said that the SP government does not want the BJP to expose its communal agenda. The campaign was being held at a Muslim-dominated area, barely 100-metres from a mosque.

While the BJP held the programme without permission, paramilitary and police personnel were deployed to avoid any untoward incident. Adityanath said over 450 riots occurred in UP in two-and-half years of Akhilesh government. “Communal agenda of SP government is responsible for these riots. The state government is not concerned for poor roads, children dying due to lack of medical facilities and farmers’ suicides. But, the state government allocated Rs 300 crore for erecting boundary walls around graveyards to appease people of a particular religion,” he said.

He alleged that the UP CM invited the accused of riots in Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Bareilly to his place. The state government also initiated to withdraw cases against terror accused, he alleged. Adityanath said Shia-Sunni clashes that were common during Moharram did not take place owing to intervention of senior party leader Lalji Tandon.

“But, still we are accused of spreading communalism. They say that we should not raise slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’. Some day, they will ask us like the J&K government to stop raising slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. We can quit politics, but we cannot stop saying Bharat Mata ki Jai,” Adityanath said.

While the BJP alleged that the district administration had cancelled permission for the meeting under pressure of the state government, the district administration claimed otherwise. As per a press statement from district administration, the BJP had earlier sought permission to hold the meeting at a vegetable market ground on September 10 and it was granted on Tuesday. The SP candidate had sought permission for a meeting at the nearby Munshipulia crossing the same day.

Administration claimed both parties agreed to postpone their meetings and permissions were cancelled on their written requests on Wednesday. No fresh application for holding meeting at any new place was submitted by any of the parties.

The police has reportedly taken suo motu cognisance in the matter and initiated proceedings for an FIR at Ghazipur police station.